March 4, 2017 – Tommy Page was born on May 24, 1970 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He began playing the piano at age eight and learned keyboards at age 12, joining his brother in a band. Obviously gifted, he graduated from Highschool at age 15 and found himself in New York attending the Stern School of business at age 16.
To help support himself during his freshman year at Stern (then 16), Page worked as a cloakroom attendant in a popular New York nightclub called Nell’s. The job gave Page a chance to play his demo tape to the house DJ, who then used the demos as part of his club mixes. The unknown sounds were so impressive that soon Page was introduced to Sire Records founder Seymour Stein.
When Page turned 18, he was asked to write the theme tune of the film Shag and released it as his first single. Page’s self-titled debut album was released by Sire/Warner Bros. Records in November 1988 and contained hits such as “A Zillion Kisses,” “Turning Me On,” “I Think I’m in Love,” and “A Shoulder to Cry On”.
The follow-up album Paintings in My Mind (which he dedicated to his grandmother) gave Page a No. 1 single in the U.S., “I’ll Be Your Everything,” a song that was written with and features members of New Kids on the Block.
Luck sprung again two years later when members of New Kids on the Block (at the peak of their success) landed a ride in the same limo and Donnie Wahlberg decided to “give T a number one song.” The result was, in addition to serving as the opening act for their Step By Step tour, a number one Billboard hit titled “I’ll Be Your Everything,” a song which brought together Page’s lead vocals and backup harmony by Donnie Wahlberg, Jordan Knight, and Danny Wood. The song appeared on Page’s sophomore album Paintings in My Mind, and soon he was appearing on talk shows like Joan Rivers and Regis and Kathie Lee, featuring on the covers of every teen magazine, and taking on his own sold-out world tour. Warner Bros. was quick to cash in on their new talent and within a six-month period sent him over to producer Mike Paley for a guest spot on the Dick Tracy soundtrack, issued a new Christmas single, and a third album called “From the Heart.” Other singles from the album that were released after that were “When I Dream of You” and “Turn on the Radio” (another New Kids on the Block collaboration). The album also features “Don’t Give Up on Love,” a duet with Latin freestyle singer Sa-Fire. Sa-Fire and Page co-wrote the song, which was released as a single overseas. When sales flattened, Page was shelved by his American record label and deemed a one-hit wonder.
However Page’s third album -From the Heart- released in 1991, showcased his vocals in a wider range with higher notes than previous efforts. On this album, the ballads were more orchestral. Tommy cited the songs in the album were inspired by the current music trend at the time of Wilson Phillips. The first single, “Whenever You Close Your Eyes,” saw Page working with Michael Bolton and Diane Warren. “Under the Rainbow” and “Madly in Love” also were released as singles.
Page also appeared on an episode of Full House, titled “Crushed”, which first aired on January 14, 1992.
As an appreciation to his fans in Asia, Page released another album, A Friend to Rely On, in 1992. It contains a duet with Sally Yeh titled “I’m Always Dreaming of You” as well as a cover of Nik Kershaw’s “Wouldn’t It Be Good” and a song penned with Donna DeLory (best known as Madonna’s backing singer) called “Heaven in Your Eyes.” As house music was the current trend, the upbeat songs were produced in such form.
In 1993, Page and Latin freestyle singer Sa-Fire teamed to create a house-music group called La Casa, also featuring Allan Edwards Tibbett and Dacia Palmer. Page and Sa-Fire wrote and produced three songs, “Show Me the Way”, “Get to You” and “Dance to My Music” for the group. The songs appeared on New Faces, a house-music compilation on Sire/Warner Bros. Records.
Before releasing his next album Time in 1994, Page replaced Donny Osmond for three months in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Page concentrated on releasing his following albums in Asia, especially after he signed with the Japanese label Pony Canyon Records.
In 1995, he released his first compilation album, Greatest Hits: Dedicated to You. The same year, Page recorded a duet with Tiffany, “Close Our Eyes”, for her album, All the Best. His next studio album, Loving You, was released in 1996, containing a duet with Amy Mastura titled “The Best Part” as well as a cover of John Waite’s 1984 hit “Missing You”.
Ten ‘Til Midnight, released in 2000, was only available for sale online. In 2003, Page released a DVD collection of his music videos, which was sold through his website. Page was one of the producers on Tennessee Girl’s album Guilty Pleasures. In 2011, after a successful stint as an executive at Warner Bros. Records, where he helped to shape the careers of Michael Bublé, Alanis Morissette, Josh Groban, and Green Day, among others, he joined Billboard magazine as publisher.
As a publisher, he created new features such as the Industry Icon Award as well as the infamous Power 100 List. In April 2013, Page joined Pandora Internet Media as head of music partnerships.
In 2015, Page released a single titled “I Break Down 2015”, a slower version of his 1990 song of the same name. In June 2016, Page released an 18-track CD of his greatest ballads titled My Favorites, which included the 2015 single, “I Break Down 2015” (with vocals and instrumental version).
Known best as a singer and songwriter, Tommy Page fulfilled a lifelong dream early, reaching #1 on the Billboard charts in 1990 with his song “I’ll Be Your Everything.” He also toured with New Kids on the Block and Debbie Gibson, and had a fan-favorite guest-starring role on an episode of the TV show Full House. Page’s eight follow-up studio albums were highly successful in Southeast Asia, building an enduring fan base that would draw him back for reunion tours in recent years.
After his initial success as an artist, Page expanded into other areas of the music business as well, finding great success as an executive at Warner Brothers/Reprise, where he guided the careers of artists ranging from Michael Buble and Josh Groban to Green Day and Alanis Morissette. As the industry evolved, Page reinvented himself again, working as an executive at Pandora, publisher at Billboard, SVP at Cumulus Media, and, at the time of his death, VP of Music Partnerships at the Village Voice.
Tommy Page, singer and music executive, known for his 1990 number 1 hit “I’ll Be Your Everything” died on Mach 4, 2017 at age 46 of an apparent suicide. Even if considered a One Hit Wonder, with only one American hit, Tommy Page still made quite a career for himself, releasing seven full-length albums in 12 years.
